30 years ago my people told me your not a Jew any more you have converted. The church said the same thing to me. I didn’t know what to think. Now I am trying to make as many as I can just like me. Jews who embrace Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah.With all that is happening in the world it just seems like that task is getting more impossible to do. You know something now that I come to think of it, it is. Apart from God’s help this is a ridiculous task; only a fool would put himself through such aggravation. Oy! What was I thinking?If you will indulge me I would like to share with you my observations of another person who tried to accomplish this same task.Rom 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,1Co 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.1Co 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.Act 28:23 When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.Act 18:4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.Act 26:27 "King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do."Act 26:28 Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian."Act 26:29 And Paul said, "I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains."Like I said you gotta be a real nutcase to keep doing this foolish behavior, or just plain desperate.When I first entered the ministry a very wise man said to me “If I don’t have to enter the ministry then don’t do it.” He clarified by adding, “if there is anything else you can do to be happy then do it. But if there is nothing else in the world that can satisfy you like the ministry then you know you’re called.” This was my first Pastor, Pastor Gerald B. Manning. He had a profound effect on my life. He was to me like Paul was to Timothy. Without his influence I probably would not be in the ministry today. I have thanked God many times for sending a man like that into my life. He used to say to me in his thick Kansan accent “Henry my little Jew boy, you’re from the seed of Abraham, I love you. Some day your gonna be a Rabbi.” Every time he would say that without fail I would choke up and beg God to spare me. But wouldn’t you know it that’s what I became, a Messianic Rabbi. I fought it for years. As most of you know, I was an Evangelist and I couldn’t see any greater calling. God used that man to Prophesy over me and I don’t even know if he understood the fullness of what he was saying back then.We are all either in need of a Paul in our life or we need to be a Paul to someone. God is in these last days is calling more of you to the ministry and you keep fighting it. Over and over again you have heard His call and you still run. It might not be conventional ministry but none the less it is ministry. Well, let me be a Pastor Manning to some of you. Ask God if There is anything else you can do to be happy and if you can answer that with yes then you do not belong in the ministry. But if you can’t, then it is time to run to your work. As Pastor Manning used to say to me, “set your face like a flint and don’t turn back.” This was loosely a translated and shortened version of,Luk 9:59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."Luk 9:60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."Luk 9:61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home."Luk 9:62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."Those are hard words to hear but they are very fitting for these critical times before Messiah comes again. Let’s get to work.Yours in Messiah Yeshua,Rabbi Henry Morse

Author

Rabbi Henry Morse's ministry has taken him all over the world. He is an accomplished speaker, author, trained acrobat, and physical comedian. In addition to the active and growing congregation in Stoughton, MA, he and his wife Cherri helped launch a messianic congregation in Hilo Hawaii in 2011.